US President Joe Biden has blamed his hectic foreign travels for his debate debacle, adding “It’s not an excuse, but an explanation.” “I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate,” Biden said on Tuesday while talking to donors at a fundraiser in a Virginia suburb of Washington DC.
“I didn’t listen to my staff … and then I almost fell asleep on stage,” he added. Biden admitted that he did not have a good debate, and said he “wasn’t very smart” for “travelling around the world a couple times” before the debate. Biden also apologised by saying he was sorry for the performance. “It’s not an excuse but an explanation.”
The US president’s remarks at the fundraiser was far shorter than what he speaks on such occasions. Meanwhile, the White House said Biden will travel to Wisconsin on Friday. He will conduct a sit-down interview with George Stephanopoulos from ABC News, while on the campaign trail. He will travel to Philadelphia on Sunday.
On Tuesday, US media reports said that Democrats shocked by Biden’s dismal debate performance urged the president to be transparent about his mental fitness as he faced the first call from his own side to drop out of the election.
Some supporters have expressed growing doubts about him after last week’s televised showdown with Donald Trump when Biden stumbled over his words and lost his train of thought. US Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday she was “proud” to be Joe Biden’s running mate, amid swirling speculation about the fate of the Democratic Party’s White House ticket following Biden’s dismal debate against Donald Trump.
The 59-year-old Harris has been cited as perhaps the most obvious candidate to replace the 81-year-old Biden should he decide to withdraw from the race, but she told CBS News: “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.” “Joe Biden is our nominee. We beat Trump once and we’re going to beat him again,” Harris said.
(With agency inputs)
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